Jang Young-nam (장영남)

Jang Jin's robbery-romance farce takes the Daehangno stage

Source | 2007/12/17 | Permalink |

Jang Jin, the versatile film director and creator of the mega-hit "Welcome to Dongmakgol", is making a U-turn to Daehangno with his new theater -- not movie -- production. Calling it "an effort to attract more audiences to theaters", Jang is now staging "Seotun Saramdeul" (Clumsy People) at the Dongsoong Art Center in the heart of Daehangno, the country's cultural mecca. The play runs through March 2.

Jang started as a playwright, and became a leading drama director. He is a talented storyteller who knows how to make dramas which are commercially successful, humorous, and emotionally affecting.

For those who love his films, "Clumsy People" offers the chance to see the early work of Jang -- now one of the most celebrated filmmakers in Korea. "Clumsy People" is the very first theater script he wrote, at the tender age of 23.

Another tempting reason to visit the theater is that the play features A-list movie actors who have worked with Jang before such as Kang Seong-jin, Ryoo Seu...| More

Ko Doo-sim brings rugged warmth

Source | 2007/03/19 | Permalink |

A daughter receives a box of kimchi a month after her mother dies of cancer. She stands aghast while reading the sender's name and realizes that it was the last present from her mother. The daughter, in speechless wonder, sheds tears in memory of her dedicated mother, who must have worried about the absence of kimchi on her daughter's dining table after she was gone.

The daughter shouts out in tears, "Mom, I'm sorry that I couldn't love you as much as you loved me".

The audience might understand, although it is the first scene of the drama, what kind of a mother figure the drama "My Mother" wants to depict. It is the mother who sacrifices her life to her daughter, and always feels sorry about being unable to financially support her child.

Ko Doo-sim, a veteran actress, brings tough but warm sensitivity to her latest effort as the mother in the play. It is Ko's first theater appearance in seven years, after performing in the one woman show "I, I'm a Woman" in 2000. Based on a b...| More

Veteran Actress Ko Reaffirms 'Mother of All' Role in New Play

Source | 2007/03/11 | Permalink |

By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter

The mother-daughter relationship is complicated for most women. It is often fraught with hurt, disappointment, anger or conflict and love.

But undoubtedly, most women cannot deny that mother is synonymous with sacrifice and devotion, at least in the traditional way of Korean thinking.

It is often thought that the relationship between a mother and daughter solidifies and deepens when the daughter goes off to get married and learns for herself the sacrifices and demands of motherhood.

It is this long-twined relationship between mother and daughter that is the theme of the essay-turned-play, "My Mom". The play will open in Taehangno, central Seoul, on April 12 throughout March 6.

The Korean title is "Chinjong Omma", or daughter's mother.

The play is based on the best-selling essay written by author Ko Hye-jung, and deals with her own life story. The essay was first published in 2004.

The story revolves around a mother who devotes her ...| More

Actress Ko Doo-sim returns to stage

Source | 2007/01/18 | Permalink |

Veteran local actress Ko Doo-sim, 56, returns to the stage in Daehangro, downtown Seoul, with homegrown play "Mother", which opens on April 12, CJ Entertainment said yesterday.

It is Ko's first theater appearance in seven years after performing in the monodrama "I, I'm a Woman" in 2000.

Based on an essay of the same title, "Mother" tells the story of a love-hate relationship between a mother and her daughter.

Ko will play a dedicated mother who makes many sacrifices for her family, especially her daughter, said major sponsor CJ Entertainment in a statement.

Jang Young-nam, who appeared in last year's popular play "The Vagina Monologues", will play the role of the daughter.

The company has not disclosed which theater will be used. ...| More

Who Killed Her? Investigation Broadcast Live for 48 Hours

Source | 2005/08/04 | Permalink |

by Dong-Yong Min

At Crime Scene Without Leads, Suspect Arrested in Two Hours-

If you consider the story of a film as bones and the actors as meat, director Jang Jin's fifth feature film, "The Big Scene", is a juicy piece of meat without the needless fat and only full of red meat. It doesn't have colorful food decorations (meaning special effects or action scenes) or aroma-releasing spices (fancy art or visual design), but this piece of meat gets sweeter as you chew.

"The Big Scene" is the most popular of Jang's films. Characters formerly seen in his previous films--such as a man who ends up being arrested after accidentally passing by one murder scene after another in "Amazing Men", a floppy spy from North Korea who gets robbed in a taxi in "The Spy", or hit men who offer a discount for student clients in "Guns and Talks"--are no where in sight. This time, a prosecutor, a suspect, and witnesses tell a very believable story about a murder in this investigation film.

Jung Yoo...| More